Because of the scarcity and increasing expense of many conventional high temperature stable structural metals, increased attention has focused on non-metal containing composites as replacements for conventional high temperature use metal-containing materials. Use of metal replacement, high strength fiber reinforced resin and even high strength fiber reinforced metal matrix composites has progressed to the point of commercial acceptance in products ranging from sporting goods to advanced jet aircraft components. One of the big problems with these composites, however, has been their maximum use temperature.
Ceramic, glass, and glass-ceramic bodies are known to the art which can be employed in high temperature applications. Unfortunately, however, these bodies frequently lack the mechanical strength desired and are invariably deficient in toughness and impact resistance. This situation has given rise to the preparation of composite bodies consisting of a matrix of ceramic, glass, or glass ceramic material with inorganic fibers dispersed in continuous or discontinuous fashion therewithin.
Nevertheless, while such composites, for example, graphite fiber reinforced glass and alumina fiber reinforced glass, can be utilized at higher use temperatures than conventional high temperature structural metals, there is still much room for improvement. To illustrate, while the graphite fiber reinforced glass composite demonstrates high levels of strength, fatigue resistance, and fracture toughness, it is also susceptible to detrimental fiber oxidation at elevated temperatures. And while composites such as alumina fiber reinforced glass are oxidatively stable at high temperatures, the overall strength and toughness levels obtainable with these composites are less than those possible with a graphite reinforced glass system, for example. Similarly, high strength and toughness properties have been obtainable with silicon carbide fiber reinforced glass composites (note U.S. Pat. No. 4,314,852) and silicon carbide fiber reinforced ceramic composites (note U.S. Pat. No. 4,324,843).
Although glass-ceramic bodies customarily exhibit greater refractoriness and strength than their precursor glasses, there has been the desire to impart even higher mechanical strengths thereto. However, silicon carbide fibers have demonstrated a tendency to react with glass-ceramic matrices at high temperatures, which phenomenon has been a limiting factor in their utility as reinforcing elements. Accordingly, what is needed in the art is a composite with high strength, high fracture toughness, and oxidation stability at high temperatures.